The Player Game

Chapter 10

“All the time,” a voice answers from behind me, making me start.  I turn around to see Brad smirking at his drunken heap of a friend on the floor.  His gaze goes to me as I whack him angrily on the arm.  “What?” he asks, not even flinching at my violence.  Maybe I should practice my punching skills more often.

“Don’t make me jump,” I say angrily.

His lips twitch up into a smirk as he looks into my eyes.  I can’t help but wonder how his eyes can hold so little life.  “You need a drink,” he points out, holding his cup in the air.  “Loosen up a bit.”

Rolling my eyes, I follow him to the nearest drink stand.

Four cans of beer later, I find myself being dancing furiously on the dance floor with Verity.  Swaying our hips to the loud beat of the music, bodies press in on us from all sides, everyone focused on keeping up with the fast beat.  The can in my hand spills over the top with my every move, splashing onto the ground as I shake my hips from side to side.

“Emily!” I hear a faint shout from far away and stop for a moment, trying to peer over the heads of the dancing people.  My eyes blink rapidly in the flashing lights. “Emily!” the voice calls again.  This time, I spot Aaron’s head bobbing over the crowd.

“Aaron!” I yell happily, shoving my way through the middle of a dancing couple.  I throw myself at his body, wrapping my arms around him tightly.  “My Sex God!” I squeal.

He places two firm hands on my shoulders, pushing me back.  I grin widely, looking into his eyes.  “Your eyes are so sparkly,” I assert.  My girlish laughter bounces through my head noisily and I cock my head to the side.  “That was weird.”  I frown, hitting the side of my head in case there is water clogging my ears.

“You’re drunk,” Aaron states.  An amused expression comes across his face as he grabs hold of my hand.  I open my mouth, preparing to retort angrily.  Before I can say anything, he interrupts me.  “That’s good, because we’re playing Truth or Dare.”

Grabbing my arm, he pulls me into another room, one I haven’t been in yet.  A group of people chortling loudly are in the middle, sat in a circle.

“Oh my god!” I squeal loudly.  “I love Truth or Dare!”  Clapping my hands together excitedly, I practically drag Aaron to the circle of people and pull us onto the floor next to Harry, Verity, and Brad.  I don’t even pause to wonder how Verity got there so quickly, too caught up in watching the people in the centre of the circle.

A guy in the middle of the circle holds his hands up for silence.  He smiles crookedly, his dark brown eyes flickering between the people.  A little unsteady on his feet, he wobbles as he picks up a bottle of drink from the floor and takes a large swig before belching loudly.  A chorus of laughter follows his actions, whilst I scrunch my nose up in disgust.  Even drunk, I know the difference between good and bad manners.

“That’s Jared Simmonds.” Verity leans past Harry to whisper in my ear, noticing my disgruntled expression.

Huh.  So that’s the guy who’s oh-so-mighty.

“Who wants to go first?” the man himself shouts, swallowing another mouthful of alcohol.

“You!” a red-haired girl on the other side of the circle yells.  I nod as several people shout their agreement.

“Alright then,” Jared grins, his shiny white teeth showing.  “Someone dare me.”

There’s silence as everyone waits for someone to speak up.  I take a sip of my drink, rocking back and forth on my bum impatiently.  I look eagerly between the crowds of people, waiting for the dare.